I usually don't give much thought to Christmas preparations until about the middle of October. I set myself a Thanksgiving deadline for providing my parents and in-laws with the wish-lists they have requested for the kids. Even then, it's incredibly difficult to get the children to focus and choose and limit their requests to something that they might still possibly want two and a half months later. And trickier still to organize who is being told who wants what.
However, I'm feeling pretty ingenious right now.
After Madeleine's recent birthday, when I was trying to keep track of who was getting which of the three hundred and seven Beanie Boos and Monster High dolls that she had requested and we still ended up with a couple of duplicates and a last minute switch-out, I decided on a system which I hope will help save my sanity by limiting the need for me to personally remember who has been told by whom what they want and what has already been bought by whom.
Google Drive. I've created a Christmas Lists spreadsheet as a shared document on Google Drive.
A wish-list for each child, along with a column to enter if it has been purchased, and by whom. We can even add new items that have been purchased but that weren't on the original wish-list. And a listing of all the 35 Beanie Boos that we already own. (I swear, they're like Tribbles.)
Like a registry. But with no particular store affiliation or requirement. This could be the perfect solution.
I'm sure that my parents and in-laws will need a tutorial or two, and heck, I may even be updating it myself on their behalf, but at least I have a system.
Here's hoping it helps.
However, I'm feeling pretty ingenious right now.
After Madeleine's recent birthday, when I was trying to keep track of who was getting which of the three hundred and seven Beanie Boos and Monster High dolls that she had requested and we still ended up with a couple of duplicates and a last minute switch-out, I decided on a system which I hope will help save my sanity by limiting the need for me to personally remember who has been told by whom what they want and what has already been bought by whom.
Google Drive. I've created a Christmas Lists spreadsheet as a shared document on Google Drive.
A wish-list for each child, along with a column to enter if it has been purchased, and by whom. We can even add new items that have been purchased but that weren't on the original wish-list. And a listing of all the 35 Beanie Boos that we already own. (I swear, they're like Tribbles.)
I'm sure that my parents and in-laws will need a tutorial or two, and heck, I may even be updating it myself on their behalf, but at least I have a system.
Here's hoping it helps.
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